Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-03-16
THE ooIouSNESS OF TROUSERS
They Reveal Inequality of wealth-A
Plea for Knee Breeches.

They Reveal Inequality of wealth-A
Plea for Knee Breeches.
No article Of clothing more distinctly re-
veais the condition of mans purse than the
trousers. The fraying at the lower edge Of
the leg, which is sure to come with much
wear, is generally taken a. a sign of very mar
row means, and the baSsing at the knee,
which is also inevitable, besides producing c
foundered appearance, like that of horse
which IS gone" in the forelegs, is a sign that
a man has only one or two pairs 1t is as
sumed by the world generally that nobody
would wear trousers hasged at the knee. with
all the term applies, If he could afford the
number of changes necessary to prevent this
phenomenon In fact, almost the only
marked difference remaining in our day lie
tween the clothes OF n man Of fortune and
leisure and those Of a toler of moderate
means lies in the straightness and smooth,
hess which mark the trousers legs of the
former. His wardrobe always contains a
great many pairs At any theatre, too, the
makeup of poor teacher or literary man, or
poor devil Of any kind, includes invariably a
pair of haggy trousers
And though last not least the condition of
the trousers in muddy weather is something
which 1t is painful to dwell on, the conver-
sion OF an inch or two of the bottom into a
wei ana hiihy hand is only preventable by
turning them up, and we all know how this
looks. An effort has recently been made to
meet the struggles of men of few trousers to
escape the baSging at the knee by an inven-
uon OF machine called "the trousers
stretcher," which is literally metal rack on
which offending trousers are stretched over
night, and the detormiiy effaced by power
iui tension in the direction Of their length. II
may, therefore, be said that on the whole the
knee hreeclies were the more democratic N
the two They undergo no degeneration l.!
wear, except what comes from the actual d.
Struction OF the cloth They reveal nothir
rs 10 the condition of mans wardrobe un ii
they reach their last stage. They always
look neat and tidy, and do not come in con-
tact with the mud, leaving that to be en-
couhtt1ed by boot or stocking which can
ne readily changed. But they are in summer
a not garment, owing 10 their fitting So
closely around the knee-a defect, however.
which Is perhaps compensated by the posi-
bhIty, without damage to appearance, of
making them very loose
They are, too, now making gallant effort
TO regain their old supremacy and oust the
trousers They have made conquests OF most
OF the sporting men and athletes. and have
made considerable gains in the continental
armies. The Turks, who abandoned them
under Mahmoud, the reformer, for the ION
theml hideous trousers, have gone back TO the
brooches Some faint attempts have been
made to Introduce them again into evening
fress, but these have failed, owing in part TO
the light and frivolous character of those who
have made them. IL undertaken in a serious
spirit by any Of the crowned heads, or by
great warriors and statesmen, or in this coun- |
Try by great railroad men or stock operators
The enterprise would probably succeed.-New
York Post.